


Stations

by westernsunset



Category: Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-07 03:25:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16400450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westernsunset/pseuds/westernsunset
Summary: Right before Hakuin went off to the Shangs, his father took him by the shoulders, look him in the eye and said, “if you remember nothing else I teach you, remember this. You are not better than anyone. And no one is better than you. Treat everyone equally and expect equal treatment in return. Know you deserve that.”--class and politics and royalty and tortall, as seen through the eyes of Hakuin Seastone





	Stations

“Aren’t you supposed to be able to hide your nerves?” Eda said, with heavy sarcasm.

Hakuin looked up. “I’m not nervous.”

Eda shot him a look.

“Ok I am nervous, but there’s no way you could tell that,” he said. Hakuin was raised in the Yamani Islands, trained from birth to mask strong displays of emotion. It came in handy when he joined the Shangs since it made him impossible to read in a fight. But after spending more years out of the Yamani Islands than in them, he’d given himself the freedom to be a bit freer with his emotions. The training never truly left him. He could still effectively mask strong or embarrassing emotions when he needed to. Like now.

“No one else would notice, but you’re biting the inside of your lip, which you only do when you’re nervous.”

Hakuin released the bit of his lip he’d been biting. Eda was good.

“You don’t usually get nervous when you meet royalty,” Eda said. Hakuin spent years traveling around the world before he started teaching at the palace. Now that they taught during the year, Hakuin and Eda used any chance they had to explore other parts of Tortall, and had probably seen more of the realm than anyone who lived there. Including the King. Hakuin had met rulers, diplomats, powerful sorcerers, shared meals with them, slept in their homes. He wasn’t normally nervous in any social situation. 

“This feels different. Given the station I was born into, this is an unlikely meeting. A peasant fisherman’s youngest son in an audience with an imperial princess? The stakes feel high,” Hakuin said, picking an invisible speck of dust from his perfectly pressed tunic. 

He’d chosen not to wear the loose, wide trousers and thigh length jacket that was traditional for men in the Islands. Partly because the embroidery was coming loose on his jacket and he hadn’t found a tailor here who could replicate the delicate stitchwork to repair it. But also because he hadn’t worn the Yamani style in so long, and he knew it would have made him more uncomfortable than he already was.

For so much of his life, Hakuin had been the only Yamani. When a Shang master had come through his village when he was seven, Hakuin was the only boy who was selected for further training. He later found out he was the only boy chosen that year from the Islands. And when he actually started his training, he realized he was one of the only modern Yamani Shang Masters. The style used to be dominated by the Islands, and much of the fighting techniques of the Shang were borrowed from Yamani combat. But after a major conflict in 100 H.C.E., the Islands had cut-off trade with other nations and retreated inward. By the time Hakuin was selected to train with the Shangs, the Islands had developed their own form of combat and no one alive could remember the last time there was a Yamani Shang Master.

He could have gone home once he passed his Ordeal, become a teacher on the Islands, but eleven years with the Shangs had given him a curiosity, a burning desire to see as much of the world as he could. He’d been to places where people hadn’t even heard of the Yamani Islands, where people regarded Hakuin with suspicion or fear. And that was the best possible outcome sometimes. There were whole towns Hakuin knew he wasn’t welcome in, just because of where he was from. The older he was, the more it wore on him.

As challenging as it was sometimes to be the only Yamani, it had its benefits. There was no one to tell Hakuin that he was betraying his culture or behaving improperly. He could throw off some of the customs he’d grown up with, without fear of consequences or punishment. After a time, the Yamani mask that had served him so well for much of his life started to feel less familiar and less useful, and he began to let it fall away.

But now, he’d be in the presence of people would who not only would expect him to behave a certain way, but who would know better than anyone when he wasn’t living up to customs and standards of etiquette. It set him on edge.

“The princess will see you now,” a guard said, ushering Hakuin and Eda into the rooms where the Yamani’s were saying.

Hakuin had fully intended to bow in the Eastern style, but when he saw the princess, his Yamani training took over. He dropped to his knees, put his hands flat to the floor and touched his forehead to the ground. “ _Shensi_ Seastone,” Princess Shinkokami said, addressing him with the Yamani word for warrior. “You may rise.” Only then did Hakuin pick his head up and place his hands flat on his thighs. 

Eda had chosen a greeting appropriate for the Tortallan castle, but looked at Hakuin with a question in her eyes. Hakuin nodded slightly and Eda kneeled next to him, hands on her thighs. 

“You must be _Shense_ Bell,” the Princess said. 

“Yes. It’s an honor to meet you, your highness,” Eda said. Hakuin cringed internally. He’d tried to prepare Eda for all the nuances of Yamani etiquette but he was only now realizing he forgot to mention about how eye contact with people in stations above you was impolite, how Princess Shinkokami should be referred to as “your Imperial Highness” and a multitude of other little things.

He understood that Eda would have some flexibility extended to her as an Easterner, but he also felt the burning shame of neglected duty.

_Funny,_ he thought. _Not one minute among my countrypeople and I’m already sliding back into Yamani habits._

Hakuin’s parents had been loving, but strict. Supporting six children with the wages earned from fishing hadn’t been easy, and his parents had to work hard to keep everyone fed and healthy. They’d emphasized the importance conforming to the highest standards of behavior. The way they saw it, their children were already at a disadvantage because of their station. They shouldn’t put themselves at an even greater disadvantage by embarrassing themselves. 

His father had been so proud when Hakuin went to train with the Shangs, and slightly less proud when Hakuin spent the majority of the time on the road, returning to the Islands only for the most important feast days. Hakuin had written to his older sister he was meeting the princess, and though he didn’t say it in the letter, he hoped she would read it to their father. His father couldn’t read, but Hakuin knew he would be proud to know one of his children was representing the family in front of royalty. Of course, it would’ve been impolite to ask his sister to read it, so Hakuin would just have to wait until he went home to share his news.

“Prince Roald speaks highly of you both,” Princess Shinkokami said. “He’s told me about your training curriculum with the pages. I would be honored if you would share some knowledge with me as well.”

Hakuin bowed his head. “The honor is mine, your Imperial Majesty. Some styles of Shang fighting mirror what is taught in the Imperial Palace, I imagine you would be a quick study.”

The Princess smiled slightly. “Very kind of you to say.”

“Please call on me if there is any way I can be of service,” Hakuin said, almost in a rush to get the words out. “I remember my first days at court, it was a challenge to keep all the rules straight.”

“Thank you for your interest _Rodosa_ Seastone,” Haname said. “But we have resources we can utilize.” The use of rodosa, to mean laborer, didn’t escape Hakuin’s notice. Haname was from one of the oldest families in the Imperial Line, and clearly saw Hakuin as nothing more than the son of a peasant. Which, of course, he was. But he was also a Shang master, though he shouldn’t have been surprised Haname didn’t recognize that. Yamani social hierarchies were strict and hard to overcome.

_You don’t have to sit in silence_ said a voice in his head that sounded an awful lot like Eda. 

_Well I can’t exactly correct her, can I?_ said his more sensible voice. _Gods, the scandal that would create!_

_Well, then don’t complain_ , said his Eda-voice. Hakuin gave a mental sigh, and bowed to Lady Haname, not an inch deeper than protocol required. 

“As you wish,” he said.

“We’d love for you both to stay for some tea,” Princess Shinkokami said. Hakuin thought he could detect a shadow of worry in her eyes, but he could have been hoping too much.

“It would be an honor,” Eda said, when Hakuin didn’t say anything. “Your Imperial Majesty,” she added.

Eda, always a quick study. An imperceptible nod from the princess, and a small table of food and steaming tea was brought out.

Hakuin stopped a full smile before he embarrassed himself. “I cannot tell you how long it’s been since I had _mati_ and proper green tea,” Hakuin said, bowing to Princess Shinkokami, Yukimi and Haname. He waited for them to select their own pieces of the sweet known as _mati_ , a soft circle of bread with jelly inside, before selecting his own.

“And here I thought _mati_ was an imperial delicacy. I didn’t know it had made its way down--around, I mean, the Islands,” Lady Haname was still the picture of poise but Hakuin felt his blood boil.

He took another sip of green tea, hoping it would calm him down. Instead, the tea reminded him of his family’s seaside kitchen at dusk, listening to the waves on the shore, helping his father clean and organize his supplies for the next day.

He remembered his father inspecting the lures he cleaned, going over all the repairs Hakuin made to the net to make sure they were perfect. Hakuin would sometimes give up in exhaustion and go to bed, but his father would stay awake until he was sure everything was exactly as it should be.

“No matter what you do, do it well.” His father said it all the time. Whenever Hakuin or one of his siblings came to their father with an idea or a plan for the future, he’d remind them that whatever they did, they should give all their effort to it. Do something as best they could, or don’t do it at all. It would have been infuriating if he didn’t model it in his own life every day.

What would his father say now? Hakuin half thought his father would be proud of him for embracing the label of laborer. There was no shame in being a rodosa. There wasn’t shame in any job as long as you did it well.

Even as he thought it, he knew he was kidding himself. Hakuin knew exactly what his father would say in this situation, because he’d said it before. Right before Hakuin went off to the Shangs, his father took him by the shoulders, look him in the eye and said, “if you remember nothing else I teach you, remember this. You are not better than anyone. And no one is better than you. Treat everyone equally and expect equal treatment in return. Know you deserve that.”

Hakuin hadn’t understood it at seven years old, but the words had stuck with him since then, and they echoed in his head now like a gong.

“ _Rodosa_ Seastone?” Lady Haname asked. “Are you alright?”

If he didn’t do it now, he never would.

“My deepest apologies, Lady Haname,” Hakuin said, keeping his eyes glued to the floor. “It’s not _rodosa_ , it’s _shensi_.”

The room was dead silent. Hakuin noticed the guards deepen their stances and grip their swords. A useless gesture, they couldn’t stop him if they tried, but he knew it was their job.

“Pardon?” Haname said. Hakuin could hear ice on her tongue through her polite exterior.

He drew on every strength he had to look calm and collected. “My title, Lady Haname. It’s not _rodosa_ , it’s _shensi_. I’m a Shang master, and _shensi_ is a title I have earned. It’s my hope you will use this title going forward.” At that, he finally lifted his eyes a little, to see the Imperial ladies reaction.

He could tell from the set of Lady Haname’s jaw that she was furious. Not necessarily because she didn’t want to use his proper title, but because he had addressed her mistake publicly. Before Haname could say anything, Shinkokami spoke.

“The transition to Common has been trying on us all,” Shinkokami said, Yamani mask firmly in place. “I hope you will excuse Lady Haname, the changes in language are a challenge.”

Hakuin was ecstatic, but smiled demurely and bowed his head. He’d just been given an apology by the Imperial Princess, and he knew that Lady Haname would be instructed to use shensi for him, going forward. It was more than he could have hoped for, and he did his best to turn the conversation into the news of the Islands. Haname spent the rest of the meal with a steely glare, but Yukimi and Shinkokami were the gracious hosts they’d been taught to be, and made sure to send Hakuin and Eda off with the uneaten sweets.

“Why do I have the feeling you just committed a major breach of protocol,” Eda said, when the two had left the quarters and were far outside the hearing of the Yamani ladies.

“Oh Eda, I thought they’d try to kill me!” Hakuin laughed, the stress of the evening lifting from his shoulders. “Gods, to challenge a member of the Imperial Court? Who would have thought!”

Eda smiled at her friend, back to his lively ways. “The word they used, rodosa?”

“A word for laborer,” Hakuin cut in. “I shouldn’t be offended, my father and my entire family are laborers and I’m proud of their work. It was just—”

“You’re not a laborer, you’re a Shang Master,” Eda finished. The daughter of poor mountain people, she understood the ability the Shangs gave commoners to move up in the world.

“Exactly,” Hakuin said. “And I knew my father would never forgive me if I sat there and let people think they were better than me.”

“Will he forgive you for correcting a member of the Imperial Court?” Eda said, barely suppressing a smile.

“How about we just don’t tell him that part, and pretend I was respected the whole time?” Hakuin laughed. “It’s not like the story will reach him anyway, and if it did…” Hakuin trailed off, picturing his father, who would probably put up a front of embarrassment, but would secretly be proud of his youngest. “If the story reaches him, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to modify existing Japanese words that were close or similar to the meanings I wanted to convey, but I don't speak Japanese, so I'm not sure if these are even close! If you want to correct me, or give new ideas, come find me on tumblr, nevertobecaught.tumblr.com


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